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BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

o 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

William  Anderson  Scott 
Collection 


"THE   HIGHER  LAW" 


IN    ITS    APPLICATION    TO 


THE  FUGITIVE  SLAVE  BILL, 


A  SERMON 


ON    THE 


DUTIES  MEN  OWE  TO  GOD 

AND  TO   GOVERNMENTS. 


DELIVERED  AT  THE  CENTRAL  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH, 

ON    THANKSGIVING    DAY. 

BY  JOHN  C.  LORD,  D.D. 

(Pastor  of  said  Church,) 

AUTHOR  OF  "LECTURES  ON  GOVERNMENT  AND  CIVILIZATION." 


BUFFALO: 
GEORGE   H.     DERBY    AND    CO. 

1851. 


STEAM  PRESS  OF  JEWETT,  THOMAS  &  Co., 

COMMERCIAL   ADVERTISER   OFFICE, 

BUFFALO,  N.  Y. 


BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 


BUFFALO,  Dec.  12,  1850. 


TO  THE  REV.  J.  C.  LORD,  D.D. 


DEAR  SIR: — Having  listened  with  great  pleasure  and  profit  to  your 
Sermon  on  the  subject  of  the  obligation  of  the  citizen  to  government,  and 
believing  that  its  wide  dissemination  woftld  be  productive  of  great  good,  in 
this  day  of  agitation  and  alarm,  we  request  a  copy  of  the  same  for  publica- 
tion, and  hope  that  you  may  be  able  to  furnish  it  at  a  very  early  moment 

Very  respectfully, 


H.  SHUMWAY, 
E.  D.  EFNER, 
BENONI  THOMPSON, 
J.  J.  BALDWIN, 
L.  K.  PLYMPTON, 
J.  0.  PUTNAM, 
JOSEPH  DART,  JR., 
P.  G.  PARKER, 
J.  CAMERON, 
H.  CAMERON, 


S.  G.  HAVEN, 
GEO.  R.  BABCOCK, 
GEO.  PALMER, 
W.  A.  FOX, 
WELLS  BROOKS, 
PERRY  P.  ROGERS, 
J&MES  G.  DICKIE, 
T.  T.  LOCKWOOD, 
JABEZ  J.  ROGERS. 


,*  * 


S  ( 


' 


S'ERMON, 


Tell  us  therefore  what  thinkest  thou  ?  Is  it  lawful  to  give  tribute  unto  Cse- 
sar,  or  not  ?  But  Jesus  perceived  their  wickedness,  and  said,  why  tempt 
ye  me,  ye  hypocrite*?  Shew  me  the  tribute  money.  And  they  brought 
unto  him  a  penny ;  and  he  saith  unto  them,  whose  is  this  image  and  su- 
perscription ?  They  say  unto  him  Caesar's.  Then  said  he  unto  them, 
render  therefore  unto  Csesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  unto  God 
the  things  that  are  God's. — MATH,  xxii.,  17,  21. 

WE  are  summoned  to  day  by  the  proclamation  of  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  this  State,  to  consider  and  acknowledge  the  mer- 
cies of  God  during  the  year  that  is  past.  As  individuals,  for 
ourselves,  and  our  households,  it  becomes  us  to  acknowledge 
our  personal  deliverances,  and  the  varied  proofs  of  the  Divine 
goodness  which  we  have  experienced  since  we  last  assembled 
to  render  our  annual  tribute  of  praise,  prayer,  and  thanksgiving, 
to  Him, — "  who  causeth  the  outgoings  of  the  morning  and  the 
evening  to  rejoice  ;  who  giveth  the  early  and  the  latter  rain  ; 
who  appointeth  fruitful  seasons  and  abundant  harvests ;  who 
openeth  his  hand  and  satisfieth  the  desire  of  every  living 
thing."  As  citizens,  it  concerns  us  to  consider  the  general 
prosperity  of  the  State  and  the  Nation,  to  notice  the  various 
tokens  of  the  Divine  mercy  in  regard  to  the  preservation  of 
the  free  government  under  which  we  live,  founded  by  the  sa- 
crifices of  our  pious  ancestry,  and  perpetuated,  as  we  may  well 
believe,,  for  this  reason,  among  others,  that  their  "  prayers  are 
yet  had  in  remembrance  before  God,  and  their  tears  preserved 
in  his  bottle."  As  individuals,  our  presence  in  this  house  to 


day  is  a  proof  of  the  personal  mercies  which  should  lead  us  to 
offer  the  acceptable  sacrifice  of  praise.  Some  who  once  sat 
with  us  in  this  sanctuary  have  gone  to  the  congregation  of  the 
dead ;  dea  to  the  requiem  which  the  winds  of  winter  are  now 
mournfully  murmuring  over  their  graves ;  insensible  to  all 
sounds,  until  the  palsied  ear  shall  hear  the  "  voice  of  the  arch- 
angel and  the  trump  of  God ;"  others  are  upon  beds  of  sick- 
ness, pain,  and  sorrow,  and  know  not  whether  they  shall  enter 
again  the  house  of  prayer,  to  mingle  their  praises  with  yours, 
or  pass  from  the  couch  of  suffering  to  the  life  to  come,  to  be- 
hold the  mysteries  of  the  unseen  world,  and  worship  with  that 
august  throng,  that  "innumerable  company  of  angels  and 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,"  who  fill  the  arches  of  Hea- 
ven with  the  voices  of  praise  and  thanksgiving,  ascribing 
"  blessing  and  honor  and  dominion  and  jjower  to  Him  that 
sitteth  upon  the  throne  and  to  the  Lamb  for  ever  and  ever." 
Some  are  full  of  affliction,  oppressed  with  poverty  or  over- 
whelmed with  reverses  "Which  prevent  them  from  mingling 
with  us  in  the  worship  of  the  sanctuary  on  this  day  of  thanks- 
giving :  and  ajas  I'that  it  should  be  so,— there  are  others  who 
are  full  of  prosperity  "  whose  Qyes  stick  out  with  fatness,  who 
are  not  in  trouble  as  other  men,"  "~who  are  so  unmindful  of  their 
dependance  -upon  Him  in  "whom  they  live  and  move  and 
have  their  being ;"  so  regardless  of  all  the  goodness  and  mercy 
of  God,  that  they  never  darken  the  doors  of  the  house  of  prayer, 
and  never  unite  in  the  worship  and  praise  of  the  Father  of 
mercies.  But  by  our  presence  •  in  this  place  to  day,  we  are 
seen  to  be  the  witnesses  of  the  Divine  goodness,  we  acknow- 
ledge ourselves  the  recipients  of  unnumbered  favors,  we  pro- 
pose to  offer  the  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving,  and  call  upon  our 
souls  and  all  within  us  to  magnify  the  name  of  our  Father, 
Preserver,  Benefactor,  and  Redeemer. 


But  not  alone  for  private  and  personal  mercies  should  we 
render  thanks  to-day.     As  citizens  of  this  State,  and  of  the 
great  Republic  of  which  it  is  the  chief  member,  we  are  called 
to  consider  the  preservation  of  public  tranquillity,  the  adjust- 
ment of  sectional  difficulties,  and  the  continuance  of  the  bonds 
of  our  union,  amid  excitements  which  threatened  its  integ- 
rity ;  amid  a  storm,  the  original  violence  of  which  is  manifest  in 
the  clouds  which  yet  obscure  our  political  horizon  ;  in  the  deep- 
toned  thunders  that  are  yet  muttering  in  the  distance.     It  is 
not  necessary  to  adapt  the  opinions  of  the  extreme  alarmists  in 
either  section  of  the  country,;  to  conclude  that  great  dangers 
have  threatened,  if  they  do  not  still  threaten,  the  union  of  these 
States.     Ittdoes  not  require  very  great  discernment  to  see  that 
the  continued  agitation  of  the  vexed  question  of  Slavery,  pro- 
ducing alienation  and  distrust  between  the  North  and  the 
South,  must,  in  the  end,  either  sever  the  bonds  between  the 
free  and  the  slave  States,  or  render  them  not  worth  preserving. 
A  unity  maintained  by  force,  if  this 'were  possible.,  would  not 
pay  the  cost  of  its  keeping.     If,  in  the  heat  of  the  existing  con- 
troversies, these  tw"o  great  sections  of  the  Union,  come  at  Jast 
to  forget  their  common  ancestry,  and  the  mutual  perils  shared 
by  them  in  the  revolutionary  struggle ;  if  South  Carolina  and 
Massachusetts,  who  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  doubtful 
contest  for  American  freedom,  come  to  disregard  the  voices  of 
their  illustrious  dead,  who  lie  side  by  side  in  every  battle  field 
of  the  revolution ;    if  Virginia  and  New  Y9rk  refuse,  in  the 
heats  engendered  by  this  unhappy  stife,  to  listen  ionger  to  the 
voice  of  Washington,  warning  them  in  his  farewell  address  of 
this  very  rock  of  sectional  jealousy  and  alienation ;   if  the 
words  of  the  Father  of  his  country  are  no  longer  regarded 
with  reverence  in  the  ancient  commonwealth  of  his  birth,  or 
in  the  great  State  whose  deliverance  from  a  foreign  enemy  was 


8 

the  crowning  achievement  of  his  military  career ;  and  if  the 
compromises  upon  which  the  Union  was  consummated,  continue 
to  be  denied  or  disregarded ;  there  is  an  end  of  the  confede- 
racy. If  the  stronger  should  crush  the  weaker  and  hold  on  to 
an  apparent  union  with  the  grasp  of  military  power,  it  would 
no  longer  be  a  confederacy,  but  a  conquest.  When  there  is  no 
longer  mutual  respect ;  no  more  fraternal  forbearance ;  no  more 
regard  for  each  other's  local  interests  ;  no  more  obedience  in 
one  section,  to  the  laws  which  protect  the  guaranteed  rights  of 
the  other, — the  basis  of  union  is  wanting,  and  nothing  but  a 
military  despotism,  with  a  grasp  of  iron,  and  a  wall  of  fire,  can 
hold  the  discordant  elements  together. 

In  the  discussions  which  the  recent  agitations  of  the  coun- 
try have  originated,  grave  questions  have  arisen  in  regard  to 
the  obligation  of  the  citizen  to  obey  laws  which  he  may  dis- 
approve ;  appeals  have  been  made  to  a  HIGHER  LAW,  as  a  justifi- 
cation, not  merely  of  a  "neglect  to  aid  in  enforcing  a  particular 
statute,  but  of  an  open  and  forcible  resistance  by  arms.  Those 
subject  to  the  operations  of  the  recent  enactment  of  Congress 
in  regard  to  fugitive  slaves  have  been  counselled  from  the  pul- 
pit, and  by  men  who  profess  a  higher  Christianity  than  others, 
to  carry  deadly  weapons  and  shoot  down  any  who  should  at- 
tempt to  execute  its  provisions.  The  whole  community  at  the 
North  have  been  excited  by  passionate  appeals  to  a  violent  and 
revolutionary  resistance  to  laws  passed  by  their  own  represen- 
tatives, to  sustain  an  express  provision  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  which,  if  defective  in  their  details,  are  yet 
clearly  within  the  delegated  powers  and  jurisdiction  of  our  na- 
tional Legislature.  The  acknowledged  principle  that  the  law 
of  God  is  supreme,  and  when  in  direct  conflict  with  any  mere 
human  enactment  renders  it  nugatory,  has  been  used  to  justify 
an  abandonment  of  the  compromises  of  the  Constitution ;  an 


9 


armed  resistance  to  the  civil  authorities,  and  a  dissolution  of 
that  Union  with  which  are  inseparably  connected  our  national 
peace  and  prosperity.  The  consideration  of  the  duties  which 
men  owe  to  God,  as  subjects  of  his  moral  government, 
and  which,  as  citizens  they  owe  the  commonwealth,  is  at  all 
times  of  importance,  but  now  of  especial  interest  in  view  of  the 
agitations  of  the  day.  It  is  high  time  to  determine  whether 
one  of  the  highest  duties  enforced  by  the  Gospel,  obedience  to 
the  law  of  God  as  supreme,  can  be  made  to  justify  a  violent 
resistance  to  the  late  enactment  of  Congress ;  whether  our 
Christianity  enjoins  the  dissolution  of  our  Union  ;  whether  the 
advocates  of  a  higher  law  stand  really  upon  this  lofty  vantage 
ground  of  conscience,  or  are  scattering  "fire  brands,  arrows 
and  death,"  either  under  a  mistaken  view  of  duty,  or  the 
impulses  of  passion  and  fanaticism,  or  inflamed  by  that  dema- 
gogueism,  which,  if  it  cannot  rule,  would  ruin  ;  which,  like 
Milton's  fallen  angel,  would  rather  "  reign  in  Hell  than  serve 
in  Heaven  ?" 

That  this  subject  is  not  out  of  place  in  the  pulpit  is  mani- 
fest, from  the  fact,  that  it  is  strictly  a  question  of  morals.  Our 
duties  to  God  constitute  the  subject  matter  of  revealed  religion, 
and  their  enforcement  is  the  great  business  of  the  Gospel  minis- 
ter ;  our  duties  to  government  FLOW  OUT  OF  OUR  RELATION  TO 
THE  SUPREME  GOVERNOR,  as  well  as  our  relations  to  each  other, 
and  are  clearly  pointed  out  and  forcibly  enjoined  in  the  Gos- 
pel. "  Put  them  in  mind,"  says  an  Apostle,  "  to  be  subject  to 
principalities  and  powers ;  to  obey  magistrates  ;  to  be  ready  to 
every  good  work :"  "  Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the 
higher  powers  ;  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God."  In 
the  text,  we  are  informed  of  an  attempt  made  by  the  Jewish 
casuists  to  ensnare  our  Lord  in  his  words,  by  proposing  the 
question  whether  it  was  lawful  to  pay  tribute  to  Csesar ;  it 


10 


being  supposed  by  them,  that  any  reply  he  could  make  would 
lead  him  into  difficulty ;  for  the  Jews  were  perpetually  galled 
by  the  Roman  yoke,  and  any  response  favoring  their  oppress- 
ors would  have  aroused  their  indignation  ;  while,  if  the  lawful- 
ness of  tribute  were  denied  by  the  reply  of  our  Lord,  it  would 
have  given  his  enemies  ground  to  accuse  him  before  the  autho- 
rities, of  sowing  sedition.  If  our  Saviour,  in  response  to  the 
question  of  the  lawfulness  of  tribute,  should  answer  in  the 
affirmative,  the  Jews  would  stone  him  ;  if  in  the  negative,  the 
Romans  would  arraign  him  as  a  violater  of  law.  He  who 
knows  all  hearts  perceived  their  wickedness,  and  said,  "  Why 
tempt  ye  me,  ye  hypocrites  ?  Show  me  the  tribute  money ; 
and  they  brought  him  a  penny,  and  he  said  unto  them,  Whose 
is  this  image  and  superscription  ?  They  say  unto  him,  Caesar's ; 
Then  said  he  unto  them,  Render  therefore  unto  Caesar  the 
things  which  are  Caesar's,  and  unto  God,  the  things  that  are 
God's."  Well  might  "  they  marvel  and  go  their  way,"  baffled 
by  the  answer  of  divine  wisdom.  Our  Lord  escaped  their 
malice,  by  stating  the  true  principle  on  which  the  obedience  of 
the  citizen  is  demanded  by  government,  in  the  legitimate  exer- 
cise of  its  powers.  The  coining  of  money  is  an  act  of  sove- 
reignty ;  the  impress  of  Caesar  upon  the  penny  was  proof 
that  the  Romans  possessed  the  government  of  Judea,  de  facto, 
and  were,  therefore,  to  be  obeyed  as  the  supreme  authority  in 
all  civil  enactments ;  while  any  attempt  to  interfere  with  the 
religious  principles  or  practices  of  the  Jews  might  be  conscien- 
tiously resisted. 

We  take  the  ground,  that  the  action  of  civil  governments 
within  their  appropriate  jurisdiction  is  final  and  conclusive 
upon  the  citizen  ;  and  that,  to  plead  a  higher  law  to  justify  dis- 
obedience to  a  human  law,  the  subject  matter  of  which  is 
within  the  cognizance  of  the  State,  is  to  rejeet  the  authority  of 


11 


God  himself;  who  has  committed  to  governments  the  power 
and  authority  which  they  exercise  in  civil  affairs.  This  is 
expressly  declared  by  the  Apostle  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro» 
mans,  "  Let  every  soul  be  subject  to  the  higher  powers,  for 
there  is  no  power  but  of  God  ;  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained 
of  God ;  whosoever,  therefore,  resisteth  the  power,  resisteth  the 
ordinance  of  God.  For  he  (that  is,  the  civil  magistrate) 
beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain,  for  he  is  the  minister  of  God, 
a  revenger  to  execute  wrath  upon  him  that  doeth  evil.  Where- 
fore ye  must  needs  be  subject,  not  only  for  wrath,  but  also  for 
conscience  sake  ;  render  therefore  to  all  their  dues,  tribute  to 
whom  tribute  is  due,  custom  to  whom  custom,  fear  to  whom 
fear,  honor  to  whom  honor." 

The  language  here  cannot  be  misunderstood.  Obedience  to 
governments,  in  the  exercise  of  their  legitimate  powers,  is  a 
religious  duty,  positively  enjoined  by  God  himself.  The  same 
authority  which  commands  us  to  render  to  God  the  things 
which  are  God's,  enjoins  us,  by  the  same  high  sanctions,  to 
render  to  Caesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's. 

The  following  general  principles  may  be  deduced  from  the 
Sacred  Scriptures,  and  from  the  example,  as  well  as  the  teach 
ings,  of  our  Lord  and  his  Apostles. 

First. — Government  is  a  divine  constitution,  established  at  the 
beginning,  ly  the  Creator,  which  exists  of  necessity  and  is  of 
perpetual  obligation.  Men  are  born  under  law,  both  as  it  re- 
spects the  Law  of  God  and  the  enactments  of  States.  By 
the  ordination  of  the  supreme  law,  they  owe  allegiance  to  the 
country  of  their  birth,  and  are  naturally  and  unavoidably  the 
subjects  of  its  government ;  their  consent  to  this  is  neither 
asked  or  given ;  their  choice  can  only  respect  the  mode,  never 
the  fact  of  Government.  The  mutual  compact,  of  which  poli- 
ticians and  lawyers  speak,  is  a  mere  figment  of  the  imagina- 


12 


tiou,  without  warrant  from  the  word  of  God,  and  contradicted 
by  all  the  facts  iii  the  case.  We  might  as  well  affirm  that 
men  agree  to  be  born,  and  to  be  subject  to  their  parents,  by  a 
mutual  compact,  in  which  the  child  surrenders  certain  rights 
for  the  sake  of  parental  protection,  and  the  parent  covenants 
to  provide  and  govern  on  the  promise  of  obedience.  The 
statement  in  the  last  case  is  no  more  absurd  than  in  the  first. 
In  the  family  is  found  the  rudimental  government,  and  the 
fifth  commandment  has  always  been  understood  by  Christians 
as  ordaining  subjection  to  magistrates  as  well  as  parents. 

Second. — Governments  have  jurisdiction  over  men  in  all 
a  fairs  which  belong  peculiarly  to  the  present  life;  in  all  the 
temporal  relations  which  bind  societies,  communities,  and  fam- 
ilies together,  in  respect  to  all  rights  of  person,  and  property, 
and  their  enforcement  by  penalties.  General  rules  are,  indeed, 
laid  down  in  the  Scriptures  for  the  regulation  of  human  con- 
duct, but  God  has  ordained  the  "  powers  that  be"  to  appoint 
their  own  municipal  laws,  to  regulate  and  enforce  existing  re- 
lations, and  to  execute  judgment  upon  offenders,  under  such 
form  of  administration  as  shall  be  suitable  to  the  circum- 
stances of  the  people,  and  chosen  by  themselves.  Govern- 
ments, as  to  their,  mode,  do  not  form  but  follozv  the  character 
and  moral  condition  of  a  people,  and  are  an  indication  of  their 
real  condition  intellectually  and  morally.  The  idea  that  the 
mere  change  of  the  form  of  a  despotic  government  will  neces- 
sarily elevate  a  nation  is  a  mistaken  one.  A  people  must  be 
elevated  before  they  can  receive  free  institutions.  The  mode 
of  government  is  the  index  and  not  the  cause  of  the  condition 
of  the  different  nations  of  the  earth,  which  may  be  demon- 
strated by  the  history  of  empires  and  states,  and  by  the  vain 
efforts,  recently  made  in  Europe  to  adopt  our  institutions,  with- 
out the  moral  training  and  preparation  which  can  alone  make 


13 


them  either  possible  or  valuable.  France,  to-day,  is  a  despo- 
tism under  the  forms  of  a  free  government,  and  maintains  her 
internal  tranquillity  by  a  hundred  thousand  bayonets. 

Third. — In  regard  to  his  own  worship^  and  the  manner  in 
which  we  are  to  approach  HIM,  the  Supreme  Governor  has 
given  full  and  minute  directions.  He  has  revealed  himself,  his 
attributes,  and  the  great  principles  of  his  government,  which 
constitute  the  doctrines  of  Christianity;  and  has  conferred 
upon  no  human  authority,  the  right  to  interfere,  by  adding  to 
or  taking  from  them.  IN  THE  THINGS  THAT  BELONG 
TO  HIMSELF,  God  exercises  sole  and  absolute  jurisdiction, 
and  has,  in  regard  to  them,  appointed  no  inferior  or  delegated 
authority. 

Fourth. — The  decisions  of  governments  upon  matters  within 
their  jurisdiction,  though  they  may  be  erroneous,  are  yet,  from 
the  necessity  of  the  case,  absolute.  Every  man  has  a  right  to 
test  the  constitutionality  of  any  law  by  an  appeal  to  the  judiciary, 
but  he  cannot  interpose  his  private  judgment  as  a  justification  of 
his  resistance  to  an  act  of  the  government.  Freedom  of  opinion 
by  no  means  involves  the  right  to  refuse  obedience  to  law  ;  for,  if 
this  were  so,  the  power  to  declare  war  and  make  peace ;  to 
regulate  commerce  and  levy  taxes ;  in  short,  to  perform  the 
most  essential  acts  of  government,  would  be  a  mere  nullity. 
No  statute  could  be  executed  on  this  principle,  which  would 
leave  every  man  to  do  what  seemed  right  in  his  own  eyes, 
under  the  plea  of  a  higher  law  and  a  delicate  conscience. 
Even  courts  of  justice,  which  are  the  constituted  tribunals  for 
ascertaining  and  determining  the  validity  of  all  legislative  en- 
actments, by  bringing  them  to  the  test  of  constitutional  law 
and  first  principles,  as  well  as  for  the  decision  of  causes  arising 
under  the  laws  in  relation  to  persons  and  property,  may  form 
an  erroneous  conclusion;  for  no  mere  human  wisdom  is  infallible; 


14 

yet  their  final  decisions  are  binding,  from  the  same  necessity. 
The  fact  that  an  innocent  man  may  be  condemned  and  suffer 
the  penalty  of  a  law  which  he  has  never  broken,  might  as  well 
be  urged  to  impeach  the  authority  of  a  judicial  decision,  as 
that  the  fallibility  which  is  manifest  in  hasty  and  unwise 
legislation,  should  be  alleged  as  an  excuse  for  resistance  to  a 
particular  statute. 

The  private  judgments  of  individuals,  for  instance,  that  all 
wars  are  unlawful,  even  those  which  are  defensive ;  or  that  the 
existence  of  slavery  is, per  se,  sinful  is  no  just  ground  of  resist- 
ance to  the  government  which  declares  war,  or  the  legislation 
which  recognizes  domestic  servitude,  and  regulates  it.  Both 
these  subjects  are  properly  within  the  jurisdiction  of  civil  gov- 
ernment. The  State  may  engage  in  an  unjust  war,  but  does 
this  discharge  the  subject  from  his  allegiance  ?  No  sane  man 
will  affirm  it.  The  government  may  recognize  an  oppressive 
form  of  domestic  servitude,  or  enact  laws  in  relation  to  it  which 
are  deemed  by  many  oppressive.  Is  this  a  just  ground  of  for- 
cible resistance  on  Christian  principles  ?  No  intelligent  man 
who  regards  the  authority  of  the  Bible  can  consistently  main- 
tain such  a  position.  Many  at  the  North  who  assert  such 
opinions  have  long  since  rejected  the  authority  of  the  word  of 
God,  and  have  in  their  conventions  publicly  scoffed  at  divine 
as  well  as  human  authority. 

But  the  position  we  have  taken,  that  the  decisions  of  go- 
vernments are  final  in  cases  where  they  have  jurisdiction,  even 
when  mistaken  or  oppressive,  is  not  only  sustained  by  the 
passages  which  have  been  cited  from  the  Scriptures,  but  also 
by  the  example  and  practice  of  the  primitive  Christians.  The 
words  of  our  Saviour  in  the  text,  and  of  the  Apostle,  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  while  they  have  a  general  application 
to  all  times  and  all  governments,  had  a  particular  reference  to 


15 


the  existing  authorities  of  Rome,  which  were  not  only  despotic 
in  their  general  administration  but  peculiarly  oppressive  in 
their  treatment  of  the  infant  church.  The  government  under 
which  our  Saviour  and  the  Apostles  lived,  and  of  which  they 
spake,  was  habitually  engaged  in  aggressive  wars,  aiming  at 
the  conquest  of  the  world.  Slavery  was  universal  throughout 
the  Roman  Empire,  and  the  laws  gave  the  master  the  power 
of  life  and  death  over  his  servant.  Did  the  Saviour  and  his 
Apostles,  on  this  account,  reject  their  authority,  or  incite  their 
disciples  to  disobedience  and  resistance  ?  Did  they  interfere 
1  with  existing  civil  institutions,  urging  the  slave  to  escape  from 
his  master,  the  citizen  to  rebel  against  the  magistrate  ?  Their 
conduct  was  the  exact  reverse  of  this ;  they  preached  to  the 
master  forbearance  and  kindness — to  the  servant  submission 
and  obedience — to  both,  the  Gospel.  Paul  sent  Onesimus  back 
to  his  master,  on  the  very  principles  which  he  enjoined  upon 
the  Romans — subjection  to  existing  civil  authority.  The 
inspired  teachers  of  Christianity,  instructed  both  masters  and 
slaves  in  regard  to  the  duties  which  grow  out  of  the  institu- 
tion of  Slavery,  without  either  approving  or  condemning  the 
relation  itself.  They  exhorted  Soldiers,  on  the  same  princi- 
ple, to  be  content  with  their  wages,  and  to  forbear  from  mutiny 
and  cruelty ;  without  offering  any  opinion  concerning  the  jus- 
tice or  injustice  of  the  Roman  wars.  They  spake  indeed  of  a 
promised  and  predicted  day,  when  wars,  tumults  and  oppres- 
sions should  cease,  when  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
should  bow,  and  there  should  be  none,  any  more,  to  hurt  or  mo- 
lest in  the  Mountain  of  the  Lord.  The  early  Christians  were, 
beyond  controversy,  obedient  to  the  in  unction  of  the  Apostle. 
They  obeyed  law  even  when  it  was  onerous  or  unjust.  They 
had  civil  and  military  appointments  under  the  Roman  govern- 
ment in  which  they  refused  not  to  serve ;  they  were  obedient 


16 

to  the  existing  civil  powers,  in  all  matters  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  State  ;  they  were  no  abettors  of  sedition  and  strife* 
Whole  legions  in  the  armies  that  were  sent  out  for  conquest 
by  Rome,  were  composed  of  Christians,  who  were,  doubtless, 
drawn  in  the  general  conscription  for  this  service,  and  who  felt 
it  to  be  their  duty  to  "  render  to  Caesar  the  things  that  are 
Caesar's ;"  however  much  they  might  dislike  the  business  of 
war.  Not  until  Csesar  intermeddled  with  the  things  of  God  ; 
not  until,  passing  the  legitimate  jurisdiction  of  civil  govern- 
ment, the  Roman  magistrate  commanded  them  to  adore  the 
image  of  the  Emperor,  and  to  offer  incense  to  false  Gods ;  did 
the  Christian  refuse  obedience.  But  here  he  was  immovable 
no  flattery  could  subdue,  no  terrors  appal  him.  Every  engine 
of  torture,  which  the  barbarous  ingenuity  of  Rome  could  invent, 
failed  of  its  purpose.  They  were  tortured  by  fire ;  they  were 
cast  out  to  wild  beasts;  they  were  exposed  in  the  amphithea- 
tre, to  the  gaze  of  thousands  who  mocked  their  dying  agonies. 
Like  the  ancient  prophets,  "they  were  stoned ;  they  were  sawn 
asunder ;  they  were  tempted ;  they  were  slain  with  the  sword ; 
they  wandered  in  deserts  and  mountains,  in  dens  and  caves  of 
the  earth."  It  was  enough,  that  the  Master  had  said,  "render  to 
God  the  things  which  are  God's."  Nor  was  their  resistance 
that  of  armed  and  violent  men  ;  they  assassinated  no  officers, 
and  excited  no  seditions,  but,  after  the  example  of  their  Lord, 
suffered  with  that  passive  firmness,  which  is  the  highest  form 
of  courage.  But  it  may  be  replied  to  this,  your  argument 
proves  too  much.  You  reaffirm  the  old  doctrine  of  tyrants,  of 
passive  obedience  and  non-resistance;  your  position  would 
render  all  revolutions  unlawful ;  all  changes  of  government  im- 
possible. To  this,  it  may  be  said,  that  it  does  not  belong  to  the 
Church  in  her  organized  capacity,  nor  to  Christians,  considered 
solely  as  such,  and  with  reference  to  then:  religious  duties,  to 


17 

revolutionize  governments ;  for  this  reason,  the  Gospel  is  silent 
on  this  subject,  while  enforcing  the  general  duties  of  the  citi- 
zens under  all  governments  de  facto,  whether  revolutionary 
or  otherwise  ;  whether  despotic  or  democratic.  That,  under  cer- 
tain circumstances,  the  people,  by  which  is  meant  the  large  ma- 
jority, have  a  right  to  revolutionize  a  government  is  conceded. 
Presbyterians  have  ever  resisted  the  High  Church  and  tory 
doctrine  of  the  divine  right  of  Kings,  in  the  State  ;  and  Prelates, 
in  the  Church.  They  stood,  to  a  man,  with  the  Patriots  who 
achieved,  under  God,  the  independence  of  our  beloved  country ; 
they  have  maintained  the  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
at  the  hazard  of  life  and  fortune,  in  both  hemispheres.  The 
Presbyterians  of  Scotland,  and  the  Puritans  of  England,  were 
the  founders  of  English  liberty,  by  the  admission  of  Hume 
himself,  who  hated  them  with  infidel  and  tory  extravagance. 
The  right  of  a  people  to  select  their  own  form  of  government, 
a  question  entirely  distinct  from  the  fact  of  government,  which 
is  of  necessity  by  a  Divine  Constitution,  has  ever  been  main- 
tained by  us  as  existing,  not  only  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  but 
as  warranted  by  the  Word  of  God ;  of  which,  the  choice  by  the 
Hebrews  of  a  King,  and  the  rejection  of  their  ancient  democra- 
tic mode  of  government,  which  they  received  from  the  Su- 
preme Lawgiver,  himself,  is  an  example.  This  change  was 
expressly  allowed  them  at  their  desire,  though  with  a  plain 
intimation  that  their  choice  was  a  bad  one.  So  the  revolt  of 
the  ten  tribes  upon  the  declaration  of  Rehoboam,  that  he  would 
govern  them  in  a  despotic  and  arbitrary  sway,  that  "his  little 
finger  should  be  thicker  than  his  father's  loins,"  appears  after- 
wards to  have  been  sanctioned  by  the  Most  High ;  who  gave 
them  Jeroboam  for  a  King,  and  rent  Israel  forever  from  the 
house  of  David  and  Solomon. 

The  right  of  revolution  is  a  civil  right,  which  can  be  pro- 
B 


18 

perly  exercised  only,  ~by  a  decided  majority,  under  circumstan- 
ces of  aggravated  oppression  and  upon  a  reasonable  assurance 
of  success.  It  is  not  for  the  Church,  as  such,  to  determine 
when  a  just  ground  for  revolution  exists,  it  belongs  to  the  body 
of  the  people  in  their  civil  capacity.  If.  in  the  judgment,  for 
example,  of  a  great  majority  of  tlje  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  it  would  be  better  to  abandon  our  Union;  if  the  South, 
in  her  exasperation  against  the  North,  for  interference 
with  her  domestic  relations,  and  in  the  vain  hope  to  secure  an 
increase  of  wealth  and  population  corresponding  with  that  of 
the  free  states,  desire  disunion  ;  if  we  of  the  North  are  unwilling 
observe  the  guarantees  of  the  Constitution,  and  think  it  worth 
while  to  abandon  the  advantages  of  the  confederacy  for  the 
sake  of  making  our  territory  a  place  of  refuge  for  run- 
away slaves ;  the  Union  will  be  dissolved  by  a  revolution,  the 
most  disastrous  the  world  ever  saw.  But  while  the  Constitu- 
tion remains  ;  while  the  Government  continues ;  let  us  observe 
the  laws;  let  us  not  justify  murder  and  sedition;  and,  least  of 
all,  let  us  not  talk  of  a  higher  law,  which  absolves  men  from 
obedience  to  a  Constitution  which  they  have  sworn  to  maintain. 
If  there  be  any  higher  law,  it  is  the  law  of  resistance  and 
revolution;  and  the  sooner  this  is  understood  and  openly 
avowed,  by  the  ultraists  and  fanatics,  both  North  and  South, 
the  better  for  the  country.  The  people  of  these  United  States 
are  not  likely,  with  their  eyes  open,  to  plunge  into  the  gulf 
which  disunionists  are  opening  up  beneath  their  feet;  and  when 
the  real  designs  of  these  men  are  seen,  when  they  openly  avow 
that  a  revolution  is  the  end  of  their  movement,  we  believe  that 
they  will  be  crushed  under  the  weight  of  public  indignation. 

But,  in  regard  to  the  question  of  a  higher  law,  which  we 
think  we  have  demonstrated  cannot  be  urged  to  annul  the  legis- 
lation of  a  State,  in  relation  to  any  matter  properly  within 


19 

its  jurisdiction ;  it  may  be  further  replied  that  it  is  not  yet 
proved  that  the  enactment  or  recognition  of  Slavery  is  within 
the  powers  divinely  delegated  to  Governments;  that  it  is 
against  the  Supreme  Law,  and  therefore  all  human  legislation 
on  the  subject  is  inoperative  and  void.  To  this  we  reply,  in 
the  first  place,  that  there  are  many  evils  incident  to  the  fallen 
condition  of  our  race,  such  as  War  and  Slavery,  the  existence 
of  which  is  be  regretted,  but  which  are  necessarily,  in  the 
actual  condition  of  mankind,  the  appropriate  subjects  of  munici- 
pal regulation.  A  State  must  possess  the  right  of  self-defence 
in  order  to  maintain  its  existence  ;  this  involves  not  only  the 
authority  of  the  Magistrate  to  punish  criminals,  but  of  the 
Government  to  declare  war.  This  is  clearly  implied  by  the 
Apostle  in  the  expression  "  he  beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain." 
But  the  State  having  this  right,  may  and  do  often  abuse  it  by 
aggressive  wars,  the  injustice  of  which,  we  have  already  seen, 
is  no  ground  of  forcible  resistance  to  the  civil  authority.  So 
the  right  of  legislation  in  regard  to  servitude  as  a  punishment 
for  crime,  or  as  a  method  for  disposing  of  prisoners  taken  in 
war,  has  been  exercised  from  the  earliest  ages  and  among  all 
nations,  and  will  hardly  be  denied  by  any  intelligent  and  fair- 
minded  man.  The  State  having  jurisdiction  of  the  subject, 
may,  as  in  the  waging  of  an  aggressive  war,  abuse  their 
power,  by  enacting  unjust  and  oppressive  laws  of  servitude,  but 
is  such  legislation,  therefore,  inoperative  and  void  ?  To  affirm 
this,  is  to  contradict  the  decision  of  the  Apostle  in  his  Epistle 
to  the  Romans,  and  to  subvert  every  established  principle, 
whether  human  or  divine,  on  which  rests  the  authority  of  civil 
government.  In  certain  conditions  of  society,  Slavery  is  uni- 
versal ;  it  was  recognised  and  regulated  by  law  in  all  the  free 
States  of  antiquity ;  it  is  the  first  movement  towards  civiliza- 
tion by  savage  and  barbarous  nations,  to  reduce  their  captives, 


20 

taken  in  war  to  Slavery,  instead  of  subjecting  them  to  torture 
and  death.  A  recent  traveler  in  the  vast  Empire  of  China, 
Mr.  Lay,  affirms  that  in  that  country  the  institution  of  Slavery 
is  a  positive  blessing,  as  it  prevents  infanticide  by  the  poorer 
classes,  and  provides  for  multitudes  who  must  otherwise  perish 
of  want.  That  it  exists  in  a  mild  form  in  China  is  admitted? 
but  the  question  does  not  depend  upon  a  comparison  of  the 
laws  of  different  countries  on  this  subject,  but  whether  it  is  a 
condition  of  society  which  can  in  any  case  be  alloiued,  whether 
civil  governments  have  any  authority  or  jurisdiction  to  enact 
laws  upon  the  subject,  or  in  any  way  to  recognise  or  regu- 
late it. 

But  there  is  higher  authority  for  the  determination  of  this 
question,  than  any  thing  we  have  yet  suggested.  The  exis- 
tence of  domestic  Slavery  was  expressly  allowed,  sanctioned 
and  regulated  by  the  Supreme  Lawgiver,  in  that  divine  eco- 
nomy which  He  gave  the  Hebrew  State.  The  fact  is  open 
and  undisputed  ;  the  record  and  proof  of  it  are  in  the  hands 
of  every  man  who  has  in  his  possession  a  copy  of  the  Bible. 
All  the  ingenuity  and  art  of  all  the  Abolitionists  in  the  United 
States  can  never  destroy  the  necessary  conclusion  of  this  ad- 
mitted divine  sanction  of  Slavery,  that  it  is  an  institution 
which  may  lawfully  exist,  and  concerning  which,  Governments 
may  pass  laws  and  execute  penalties  for  their  evasion  or 
resistance. 

To  allege  that  there  is  a  higher  law,  which  makes  slavery, 
2^er  se,  sinful,  and  that  all  legislation  that  protects  the  rights  of 
masters,  and  enjoins  the  re-delivery  of  the  slave,  is  necessarily 
void  and  without  authority,  and  may  be  conscientiously  re- 
sisted by  arms  and  violence,  is  an  infidel  position,  which  is 
contradicted  by  both  Testaments  ; — which  may  be  taught  in 
the  gospel  of  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau,  and  in  the  revelation  of 


21 


the  Sceptics  and  Jacobins,  who  promised  France,  half  a  century 
ago,  universal  equality  and  fraternity ;  a  gospel  whose  baptism 
was  blood,  a  revelation  whose  sacrament  was  crime ;  but  it 
cannot  be  found  in  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  or  in  the  reve- 
lation of  God's  will  to  men.     We  do  not  mean  to  affirm  that 
sincere  and  conscientious  persons  may  not  to  be  found  who  have 
persuaded  themselves  that  forcible  resistance   to  slavery  is 
obedience  to  God ;  and  that  in  the  increased  light  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  the  example  of  the 'Jewish  economy,  and  the 
teachings  and  practice  of  our  Lord  and  the  Apostles,  are  anti- 
quated and  of  no  binding  force  upon  the  consciences  of  men. 
Such  honest,  but  mistaken,  persons  should  remember  that  if  the 
institution  of  slavery  is  necessarily  and  from  its  nature  sinful 
now,  it  must  always  have  been  so;  as  universal  principles  ad- 
mit of  no  change,  and  their  argument  is,  therefore,  an  impeach- 
ment of  the  benevolence  of  God,  and  a  denial  of  the  supreme  au- 
rity  of  the  Gospel,  as  a  system  of  ethics.     They  must,  to 
sustain  their  position,  assume  that  we  are  wiser  and  better 
men  than  the  Saviour  and  the  Apostles,  and  that  the  government 
of  God  and  the  Gospel  need  revision  and  emendation.     Such 
a  conclusion  is  inevitable  from  the  premises,  and  I  would 
affectionately  warn  all  who  have  named  the  name  of  Christ, 
and  who  have  been  betrayed  by  passion  or  sympathy  into  such 
a  position,  .to  see  to  it  before  they  take  the  inevitable  plunge* 
with  the  Garrison  school,  into  the  gulf  of  infidelity.     I  would 
respectfully  entreat  them  to  remember  that  this  is  not  the  first 
proclamation,  "  Lo,  here  is  Christ,  or  there,"  which  has  proved 
a  device  of  the  adversary ;  that  Jacobins,  Fourierites,  Commu- 
nists, and  Levellers  of  all  sorts,  reject  the  Gospel  on  the 
ground  that  it  does  not  come  up  to  their  standard  of  liberty, 
equality,  and  fraternity,  and  has  no  sufficiently  comprehensive 
views  of  the  rights  of  man.     Those  who  preach  the  Gospel 


22 


ought  specially  to  remember  that  our  race  are  apostate,  and 
live  under  a  remedial  government ;  and  that  it  is  our  mission  to 
deal  with  the  world  as  it  is,  and  men  as  we  find  them,  just  as 
did  the  Saviour  and  the  Apostles — remembering  that  here 
we  have  "  no  continuing  city,"  and  that  the  Gospel  does  not 
propose  to  us  an  equalization  of  human  conditions  in  time ; 
that  "  there  remaineth  a  rest  for  the  people  of  God,"  and  to 
this,  the  Master  of  life  and  his  Apostles  pointed  the  rich  and 
the  poor,  the  high  and  thp  low,  the  bond  and  the  free.  They 
made  it  no  part  of  their  work  to  array  the  prejudices  of  one 
class  against  another ;  to  discontent  the  slave  with  his  condi- 
tion ;  or  the  citizen  with  the  government ;  but  treated  all  these 
things  as  of  inferior  consideration,  compared  with  the  hope  of 
another  and  a  better  life,  through  the  blood  of  atonement. 

The  comparative  mildness  of  Hebrew  slavery  which  is 
alleged,  if  it  were  true,  is  of  no  moment  in  the  decision  of  the 
question  before  us  ;  for  it  is  not,  whether  American  legislation 
on  this  subject  be  unwise  and  unjust,  but  whether  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  is  necessarily  sinful,  and  all  legislation  on  the 
subject  void  for  want  of  jurisdiction,  and  because  of  a  higher 
law  that  prohibits  its  existence. 

Domestic  slavery,  in  this  country,  is  older  than  the  Constitu- 
tion ;  it  had  existed  for  several  generations  before  the  revolu- 
tion. The  people  of  the  North,  in  their  union  with  the  slave 
States  under  a  general  Government,  upon  the  adoption  of  a 
common  Constitution,  bound  themselves  to  respect  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  as  it  then  existed,  so  far  as  to  deliver  up  fugi- 
tives to  their  masters.  What  has  been  said  proves,  we  think, 
that  such  an  arrangement  was  not  void  as  being  against  a 
higher  law,  and  consequently  any  legislation,  by  Congress, 
which  fairly  carries  out  this  provision,  and  enforces  this  guaran- 
tee, is  constitutional  and  lawful,  and  cannot  be  resisted  upon 


23 


any  moral  grounds.  Whether  the  law  is  the  best  or  the  worst 
that  could  have  been  devised,  is  not  the  question  here  ;  nor  is  it 
really  the  question  with  the  country,  for  it  is  the  recognition 
of  Slavery  by  the  Constitution,  and  the  right  of  re-capture  which 
it  confers,  which  lies  at  the  bottom  of  this  agitation,  all  the 
rest  is  merely  for  effect,  vox  et  preterea  nihil,  and  those  who 
recommend  the  violation  of  this  law  would  undoubtedly  advise 
resistance  to  any  enactment  of  Congress  which  should  carry 
out  the  provision  of  the  Constitution  for  the  restoration  of  fugi- 
tive slaves. 

It  is  somewhat  singular  that  those  whose  consciences  have 
been  so  much  aroused  in  regard  to  a  higher  law  than  the  Con- 
stitution, should  have  forgotten,  in  their  contemplation  of  mo- 
ral and  religious  questions,  that  the  observance  of  the  compact 
between  the  North  and  the  South  falls  within  the  moral  rule 
which  enjoins  good  faith,  honesty,  and  integrity  among  men. 
Until  this  compact  is  rescinded  by  the  power  that  made  it, 
and  by  the  parties  who  assented  to  it,  its  fulfillment  is  re- 
quired by  every  principle  of  common  honesty.  With  what 
pretence  of  right  can  the  North  say  to  the  South,  we  will  hold 
you  to  your  part  of  the  bargain;  you  must  remain  in  the 
Union,  but  we  have  conscientious  scruples  in  regard  to  per- 
forming our  part  of  the  agreement.  Is  this  the  language  of 
good  faith  and  integrity  ?  Would  it  be  thought  honest  in  any 
private  transaction  or  compact  ?  Is  it  for  those  who  threaten 
the  South  with  force  in  case  of  their  resistance  of  Constitutional 
enactments — who  are  themselves  advocating  the  violation  of 
the  laws  which  protect  the  rights  secured  to  the  slave  States 
by  the  Constitution — to  talk  about  higher  laws  and  sensitive 
consciences  ?  Does  the  assertion,  so  often  made,  that  there  is 
no  danger  of  disunion  if  the  law  of  recapture  is  violated ;  that . 
the  South  are  not  strong  enough  to  set  up  for  themselves  \ 


24 


that  they  need  the  protection  of  the  North  to  prevent  a  ser- 
vile insurrection,  add  any  thing  to  the  moral  beauty  of  this 
position  ?  What  is  this  but  the  divine  right  of  lawless  force, 
the  higher  law  of  the  strongest  ?  What  is  this  but  a  disavowal 
of  all  regard  for  the  claims  of  the  weak.  In  the  words  of  a 
Highland  song  of  the  olden  time, 

"  For  why  ?  because  the  good  old  rule 
Sufficeth  them ;  the  simple  plan, 
That  they  must  get  who  have  the  power, 
And  they  must  keep  who  can." 

May  Vermont  be  permitted  to  pass  laws  to  evade  and  prevent 
the  execution  of  the  legislation  of  Congress,  and  South  Caro- 
lina threatened  with  investment  by  sea  and  land,  by  the  army 
and  navy  of  the  United  States,  for  doing  the  same  thing  ?  Is 
this  good  faith  between  sovereign  states  ?  Nay,  is  it  common 
honesty  among  men  ?  "I  speak  to  wise  men,  judge  ye !" 

If  we  are  comparatively  so  much  stronger  than  the  South, 
as  is  alleged,  is  it  magnanimous,  is  it  just,  for  us  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  their  weakness,  to  violate  their  constitutional  rights  ? 
If  they  look  upon  the  greater  prosperity  of  the  North  with  a 
degree  of  jealousy,  and  are  the  more  sensitive,  on  that  account 
upon  any  appearance  of  a  disregard,  on  our  part,  of  the  guar- 
antees of  the  constitution,  there  is  the  more  reason  for  our 
forbearance ;  especially  when  it  is  considered  that  in  the  very 
formation  of  the  Union  there  was  an  implied  understanding 
that  good  will  and  forbearance  should  characterize  the  inter- 
course of  the  parties ;  that  "  Ephraim  should  not  vex  Judah ; 
or  Judah,  Ephraim."  Why  should  the  Saxon  obstinacy  of  the 
North,  and  the  Norman  pride  of  the  South  be  forever  excited 
by  these  unhappy  disputes  in  regard  to  slavery  ;  a  question 
which  time,  and  patience,  and  God's"  providence  can  alone  re- 
solve. The  South  are  not  so  dependent  upon  us  as  we  ima- 


25 


gine ;  in  the  case  of  a  servile  insurrection  they  would  hardly 
look  for  aid,  in  the  present  state  of  things,  from  the  North,  and 
our  constant  allegations  of  their  weakness  constitute  one 
ground  of  their  dissatisfaction ;  and  one  temptation  to  a  sepa- 
ration, that  they  may  prove  to  the  North  and  the  World  that 
they  can  take  care  of  themselves.  They  have  the  old  Norman 
temper ;  the  blood  of  the  Cavalier  predominates  over  that  of 
the  Puritan  in  the  southern  States,  and  they  would  rather 
see  their  territory  desolated  with  fire  and  sword  than  yield  a 
single  point  of  honor — than  to  feel,  much  less  to  acknowledge, 
that  they  are  dependent  upon  the  North  for  protection 
against  their  own  slaves.  It  is  evident  that  the  great  body 
of  the  people  at  the  South  are  attached  to  the  Union,  and  will 
not  readily  yield  it ;  but  it  is  equally  manifest  that  they  have 
demagogues  and  traitors  there,  who  desire  to  exercise  dominion 
and  lordship  in  a  Southern  Confederacy  that  shall  extend  from 
Virginia  to  Cuba ;  who,  like  some  at  the  North,  would  rather 
be  Presidents  and  Secretaries  by  a  division  of  the  country, 
than  to  be  out  of  office  by  its  continued  Union. 

If  such  men  would  boldly  announce  their  design,  if  they 
would  form  an  anti-union  party  and  present  this  question  of 
a  revolution  in  our  government,  and  an  abandonment  of  our 
constitution  before  the  people,  it  would  go  far  to  dissipate  the 
danger  which  threatens  the  Republic,  and  to  quiet  the  perpe- 
tual agitations  that  are  wearing  out  the  strong  bands  that  hold 
us  together.  For  whatever  aUegations  may  be  made  that 
there  is  no  danger  of  disunion ;  whatever  cries  of  "peace,  peace," 
may  be  reiterated  by  men  who  are  doing  what  they  can  to 
nullify  their  own  predictions  ;  we  may  be  assured  there  is 
treachery  and  danger  all  around  us.  The  separation  of  large 
communions  of  Christians  into  Northern  and  Southern 
churches  was  one  of  the  first  signs  of  evil  omen  to  the 


26 


country.  But  two  of  the  leading  Protestant  denominations 
remain  united.*  I  thank  God  that  one  of  them  is  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  who  are  still  one  in  form  and  fact,  in  heart 
and  spirit,  from  New  York  to  New  Orleans,  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific,  having  long  since  met  this  question  and  settled 
it,  finally  and  peacefully  upon  Gospel  principles.  The  con- 
stant agitation  of  the  slavery  question  at  the  North,  the  un- 
tenable positions  assumed,  the  fierce  denunciations,  the  bitter 
revilings,  the  contumelious  epithets  which  have  been  heaped 
upon  our  Southern  brethren  and  all  who  would  not  consent  to 
unite  in  a  crusade  against  them,  are  producing  their  legitimate 
fruits  of  alienation,  distrust,  and  hatred.  If  no  positive  proof 
exists  of  a  conspiracy  among  certain  hot-headed  and  ambitious 
demagogues  at  the  South,  to  dismember  the  Union ;  that  a 
Southern  Confederacy  may  be  formed  which  will  make  them 
all  great  men  ;  yet,  it  is  manifest  that  such  a  design  has  been 
formed,  either  with  or  without  concert,  among  a  class  of  ab- 
stractionists there,  who  are  co-operating  with  the  abolitionists, 
at  the  North,  to  agitate  and  inflame  the  public  mind,  until  a 
revolution  is  inevitable.  The  recent  settlement  of  the  vexed 
sectional  questions,  which  was  hailed  by  the  country  with  con- 
fidence and  hope,  is  sought  to  be  disturbed  not  only  by  denun- 
ciation, but  by  a  violent  resistance  of  the  laws  enacted,  and 
this,  too,  before  sufficient  time  has  elapsed  to  test  them. 
Every  kind  of  phantom  is  conjured  up ;  visions  of  free  men 
forcibly  hurried  into  slavery ;  appalling  pictures  of  cruelty 
and  injustice  are  continually  exciting  the  public  mind  ;  though 
but  six  captures  are  said  to  have  been  made  under  the  fugitive 
slave  law  since  its  passage,  and  with  two  exceptions  it  is  be- 
lieved the  alleged  fugitives  have  been  discharged  or  redeemed. 

*  The  Protestant  Episcopal  and  the  Presbyterian. 


27 


If  those  who  harrow  up  the  sensibilities  of  innocent  and 
ignorant  persons  by  these  dreadful  imaginations,  are  sincere 
in  the  fears  which  they  express,  that  free  persons  of  color  are 
likely  to  be  enslaved  by  the  existing  law,  it  shows  how  utterly 
fanaticism  disregards  facts;  if  they  are  opposed  to  the  re- 
delivery  of  fugitive  slaves  under  the  provision  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, the  only  honest  position  they  can  take  is  to  declare  at 
once  and  openly  for  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  or  the  subjuga- 
tion of  the  South,  by  force  of  arms,  to  the  North. 

Before  we  leave  this  subject,  we  ought  to  notice  the  proba- 
ble results  of  a  dissolution  of  the  Union.  What  its  advanta- 
ges have  been,  are  matters  of  history  and  experience.  Under 
God,  the  Union  has  made  us  a  great  and  prosperous  people. 
We  have  maintained  peace  at  home,  and  commanded  respect 
abroad ;  our  country  has  been  the  asylum  of  the  oppressed  of 
every  land,  the  permanency  of  our  institutions  has  been 
hailed  as  the  last  hope  of  freedom  for  the  world.  Every 
state  has  preserved  its  local  sovereignty,  while  obedient  to  the 
general  law.  Every  citizen  has  enjoyed  the  largest  liberty 
consistent  with  the  preservation  of  order,  and  dwelt  under  his 
"own  vine  and  fig  tree,  with  none  to  molest  him  or  make  him 
afraid."  We  may  say  with  the  Psalmist,  "  the  lines  have  fall- 
en unto  us  unpleasant  places,  and  God  has  given  us  a  goodly 
heritage." 

On  the  other  hand,  all  the  disastrous  consequences  which 
must  flow  from  disunion,  are  known  only  to  Him  who  sees  the 
end  from  the  beginning.  One  thing  is  certain,  no  benefit  can 
flow  from  a  separation  of  the  States,  to  that  unhappy  race  about 
whom  this  whole  controversy  exists.  No  possible  or  conceiva- 
ble advantage  can  arise  to  them,  if  the  Union  were  sundered 
to-morrow.  Their  condition  at  the  North,  would  not  be  im- 
proved, their  state  at  the  South  would  be  rendered  so  far 


28 


worse,  as  an  increased  severity  of  legislation  might  be  required 
to  prevent  their  escape  to  an  enemy's  frontier.  If  a  small  in- 
crease of  the  number  of  those  who  escape  to  the  North  should 
be  secured,  which  is  doubtful,  the  question  arises,  and  it  is  a 
grave  and  unsettled  one,  whether  their  residence  with  us  is  a 
substantial  improvement  of  their  condition.  The  forms  of 
freedom  are  of  little  consequence  to  him  who  is  made  by  color 
and  caste  a  "  hewer  of  wood  and  a  drawer  of  water."  That 
the  colored  race  are  capable  of  elevation  I  have  always  main- 
tained— -just  as  capable  as  the  white,  if  they  can  be  made  to 
possess  the  same  advantages;  but  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  col- 
onization can  alone  secure  those  advantages  and  give  to  the  Af- 
rican that  which  alone  makes  personal  freedom  and  free 
institutions  valuable.  In  any  view  of  the  subject,  the  agita- 
tions and  divisions  of  the  country,  on  the  question  of  slavery 
and  the  revolution  which  may  result  from  them,  are  of  no  con- 
ceivable consequence  to  those  about  whose  interest  the  contro- 
versy exists.  A  more  unprofitable  and  inconsequential  ab- 
straction was  never  before  made  to  disturb  the  peace,  and 
hazard  the  existence  of  a  great  Empire. 

With  reference  to  the  positive  evils  of  a  revolution,  it  is  the 
opinion  of  the  most  profound  statesmen  in  the  country,  that  a 
division  of  the  Union  must  result  in  a  perpetual  war  between 
the  two  sections.  This  agrees  with  all  the  facts  of  History, 
and  the  conclusions  of  the  most  profound  observation  upon  hu- 
man nature.  Peace  would  be  impossible  under  the  circumstan- 
ces. A  line  of  fire  would  mark  the  boundary  between  the 
free  and  slave  states,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi;  from 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific.  The  blackened  roof-trees  of  all 
human  habitations,  for  miles  on  either  side  of  this  accursed 
line,  would  demonstrate  the  bitterness  of  a  conflict  between 
men  of  the  same  blood,  and  verity  the  declaration  of  scripture 


29 

that  "  the  contentions  of  brethren  are  like  'the  bars  of  a  castle.' 
Across  the  entire  continent,  the  boundaries  of  the  two  govern-' 
uients  would  be  marked  by  conflagration,  rapine  and  violence. 
Armed  plunderers,  with  whom  war  would  be  the  excuse  for 
murder  and  robbery,  would  make  a  desert  of  the  country  adja- 
cent on  either  side,  which  would  soon  be  known  over  the 
whole  world  by  two  names,  ACELDAMA  and  GOLGOTHA, 
a  field  of  blood — a  place  of  skulls.  There  are  no  visionaries  so 
wild  as  those  who  dream,  that  this  vast  Empire  can  be  disuni- 
ted peacefully,  or  that  peace  can  ever  be  maintained  between 
the  North  and  the  South,  under  separate  governments,  with  all 
the  old  memories,  the  bitter  prejudices,  the  unavoidable  rival- 
ries, the  unceasing  disputes  of  jurisdiction  with  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi  in  one  territory,  and  its  sources  in  the 
other,  and  with  the  ominous  slave  quesipri,  embittered  a  thou- 
sand fold  by  the  dismemberment  of  the  country.  If,  in  this 
unnatural  contest,  the  North  should  prevail  over  the t  South,  it 
would  be  by  making  a  desert  of  the  territory  from  the  Poto- 
mac to  the  Gulf  of  -Mexico,  and  by  the  destuction  of  both  the 
races  who  now  occupy  it,  a  victory  barren  of  glory — the  jest 
of  tyrants,  and  the  scorn  of  the  world. 

But  the  spirit  of  disunion  once  evoked,  may  extend  its  ma- 
lign influences  until,  by  the  supposition,  having  accomplished 
the  ruin  of  the  South,  the  states  at  the  North  should  divide, 
and  each  set  up  for  itself,  and,  like  the  petty  governments,  or 
rather  anarchies,  of  South  America,  command  neither  respect 
abroad,  or  obedience  at  home. 

The  beginnings  of  strife  are  like  the  letting  out  of  waters,  and 
to  this  miserable  conclusion  at  last,  these  unhappy  divisions 
may  bring  us.  It  is  an  old  adage,  that  those  whom  God 
would  destroy  he  first  makes  mad;  and  it  would  seem  that 
nothing  short  of  judicial  blindness  can  lead  to  the  further 


30 


agitation  of  a  question  fraught  with  ruin  to  our  beloved  coun- 
try, and  to  the  hopes  of  political  freedom  over  the  entire  globe. 
The  dismemberment  of  this  country  will  be  the  death-blow  of 
its  prosperity.     Our  rights  will  be  no  more  regarded  abroad  or 
our  laws  at  home,  for  our  strength  will  be  exhausted  in  our 
domestic  wars;  property,  both  at  the  North  and  South,  wil^ 
immediately  and  decidedly  depreciate  in  value  ;  all  confidence 
in   the   stability  of  our   institutions   will  be  destroyed;  and 
Despots  will  hold  a  jubilee  over  the  grave  of  the  American 
Constitution.  Worst  of  all,  this  disastrous  event  will  have  been 
brought  about  by  no  foreign  war,  by  no  struggle  with  the  civil 
or  religious  despotisms  of  the  world;  by  no  honorable  resistance 
to  foreign  interference;  but  by  the  madness  of  men  ready  to 
sacrifice  to  one  idea,  and  that  an  impracticable  one;  to  one  prin- 
ciple, and  that  a  false  one;  the  legacy  of  Freedom  aru  Union- 
which  we  hold  from  our  fathers,  and  which  we  are  bound  to 
transmit  to  our  children  by  every  consideration  of  patriotism, 
by  every  obligation  of  religion ;  and  failing  to  do  which,  both 
Earth  and  Heaven  will  cry  out  against  us,  as  false  to  the  trust 
committed  to  us  by  our  noble  ancestry ;  false  to  our  allegiance 
and  our  oaths ;  false  to  our  children  and  posterity ;  false  to 
our  religion  and  to  God,  who  has  committed  to  our  keeping 
the  ark  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  for  the  benefit  of  our  race, 
to  be  held  as  a  sacred  deposit  for  the  world.     The  plea  of  sym- 
pathy with  the  colored  race,  in  view  of  their  degraded  condi- 
tion,'however  suitable  such  sympathy  may  be,  and  demanded 
by  Him,  who  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  and  races, 
to  dwell  together  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  will  never  avail 
to  justify  an  agitation  which  is  useless  to  them  and  ruin- 
ous to  us.     A  man  who  should  expose  a  whole  community 
to  destruction,  under  the  plea  of  delivering  one  of  its  mem- 
bers   from    servitude,    or   who    should    fire    his    neighbor's 


31 

dwelling  for  the  £&me  purpose,  at  th«  risk  of  a  conflagration  ' 
which  must  consume  both  master  and  slave,  and  even  expose 
his  own  house  and  his  own  children  to  a  miserable  death,  could 
hardly  be  counted  a  philanthropist,  or  find  a  justification  of  his 
conduct  in  any  abstract  question  of  human  rights  I  would 
that  I  had  a  voice  to  penetrate  every  habitation  in  this  great 
Empire,  to  reach  every  ear  from  ocean  to  ocean,  from  Maine  to 
Florida — to  entreat  my  countrymen  to  pause  from  a  contro- 
versy, from  which  there  will  soon  be  no  retreat,  and  of  which, 
if  protracted,  there  can  be  but  one  issue — the  dissolution  of  the 
Union  and  the  ruin  of  the  Republic.  By  their  duty  to  God 
and  to  the  Government,  I  would  implore  them  to  be  obedient 
to  the  laws  ;  by  their  regard  for  their  children,  by  their  respect 
for  the  interests  of  our  common  humanity,  I  would  beseech 
them  to  take  care  of  the  Commonwealth,  than  which  there  js 
no  higher  law  for  the  Christian  citizen.  I  would  appeal  to  the 
North  and  the  South,  by  their  common  ancestry,  by  the  au- 
gust memories  of  the  revolutionary  struggle,  by  the  bones  of 
their  fathers  which  lie  mingled  together  at  Yorktown  and 
Saratoga,  at  Trenton  and  Charlestown,  by  the  farewell  coun- 
sels of  the  immortal  Washington,  to  lay  aside  their  animosities 
and  to  remember  that  they  are  brethren.  I  would  remind 
them  that  the  Union  has  given  us  the  blessings  which  we 
enjoy — that  under  its  Flag  our  victories  have  been  won ;  our 
borders  extended ;  our  wealth  and  population  increased  ;  our 
ships  respected  in  every  port  of  every  sea,  until  our  national 
progress  has  excited  the  admiration,  or  aroused  the  envy,  of  all 
the  Nations  and  Potentates  of  the  earth.  I  would  warn  them  of 
that  abyss  of  ruin  which  fanaticism  and  treason  are  opening 
beneath  them;  into  which  they  would  plunge  our  present 
fortunes  and  our  future  hope's.  I  would  beseech  them  to  stand 
by  the  Union,  to  obey  the  laws,  to  frown  upon  agitation,  in 


32 


this  crisis  of  our  beloved  country.  I  would  admonish  them 
that  failing  to  do  this,  failing  to  sustain  the  free  institutions, 
and  to  regard  the  mutual  compacts  which  we  received  from  our 
fathers,  we  may  expect  as  a  consequence  the  curses  of  pos- 
terity, the  contempt  of  the  world,  and  the  judgments  of  God. 
May  the  Ruler  of  nations  avert  from  us  these  impending  cala- 
mities. May  the  Holy  Trinity,  in  whom  our  fathers  trusted, 
give  us,  as  a  people,  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding 
and  of  a  sound  mind.  May  we  hereafter  on  occasions  like  the 
present  have  a  new  motive  of  thanksgiving  and  praise  in  the 
proofs  of  the  peaceful  settlement  of  all  sectional  controversies— 
in  the  fact  that  the  Ship  of  State  long  tossed  by  tempests  and 
threatened  with  destruction  by  conflicting  and  angry  elements, 
is  at  last  sailing  in  a  calm  sea  with  a  law-abiding  crew,  AND 
THE  FLAG  OF  THE  UNION  NAILED  TO  HER  MASTS. 


THE  END. 


